Fixed income group people on Sunday made huge rush at the open market outlets of the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh to buy onion at Tk 55 a kilogram as the price of the item skyrocketed to Tk 95 a kg on the retail market. The TCB on Sunday started selling onion in the open market through 25 outlets in Dhaka and the operation starts across the country today.
TCB officials said the organisation had taken initiative to import adequate quantity of onion and the open market sales of the commodity would continue up to Eid-ul-Azha.
Earlier in August, the TCB sold a total of 200 tonnes of onion in the open market at Tk 47 a kg across the country in an aim to check the soaring price of the item but its effort failed to contain the price of the commodity.
Although the TCB this time is selling onion at Tk 55 a kg, fixed income group people crowded into the outlets on Sunday.
There was a long queue of people at the TCB outlet in front of the secretariat in the city at noon and most of them were waiting to buy onion.
Azizur Rahman, an employee of the Bangladesh Secretariat, came to the outlet and bought two kilograms of onion.
‘I have been forced to come here as the price of onion on the retail market is too high,’ he said.
Azizur said that the quality of the onion was comparatively better than those the TCB sold in August.
Shakila Akter, a house wife who came to the TCB outlet at Shantinagar, said that she was waiting to buy five kilograms of onion.
‘The price of the item has increased abnormally in the market and so a good number of middle income people are going to the TCB outlets to buy onion,’ she said.
Humayun Kabir, chief information officer of the TCB, said the open market sales would continue till Eid-ul-Azha and each outlet would sell 500 kilograms of onion a day.
In each divisional city, the TCB will sell onion through five outlets and the operation will start from Monday, he said.
‘We have a stock of 100 tonnes of onion and we also have invited an international tender for 1,000 tonnes. Besides, the TCB is trying to buy the item from importers at land ports through local tender,’ Humayun said.
The TCB will ensure sufficient supply of onion up to Eid-ul-Azha, he added.
The commerce minister on Sunday asked the official concerned to keep the supply of onion available at reasonable price, a ministry news release said.
After reviewing the import, stock, supply and price scenario, the minister asked the ministry officials for a close monitoring of the market to check any attempt of creating artificial crisis of onion, the release said.
The commerce minister urged the central bank to reduce the rate of bank interest and LC margin for the onion importers.
-With New Age input
